yellowfish, noun

Plurals:
unchanged.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African English, EnglishShow more Translation of Afrikaans geelvis, or formed in South African English, from English yellow + fish.
a. Any of several freshwater fishes of the genus Barbus (family Cyprinidae), so called because of the colouration of some species; geelvis; moggel sense 2. See also baardman sense 1 b, karper sense 2, scaly.
1834 A. Smith Diary (1939) I. 168Fish in the pools of this river of two kinds, the flat head and bearded yellow fish.
1867 Blue Bk for Col. 1866 FF19Barber and yellow fish are caught in considerable quantities in the Orange and Kraai Rivers.
1880 P. Gillmore On Duty 132In the Mooi river good fishing is to be obtained. Yellow-fish,...are abundant, and grow to a great size.
1913 W.W. Thompson Sea Fisheries of Cape Col. 138The best species is the Geel-mogel (Barbus holubi)..it is considered the best variety for eating, and in the Zak River is called Geel-visch or yellow-fish and grows to 4 or 5 lbs in weight.
1945 H. Gerber Fish Fare 79Yellowfish..Orange, Vaal & Limpopo River systems. Although these fish have rather prominent Y-shaped bones, the flesh is fairly palatable.
1964 V. Pohl Dawn & After 39I caught three yellow-fish in quick succession...After treating the lot of us, the doctor informed our parents that yellow fish roe could be poisonous at certain times of the year.
1971 Farmer’s Weekly 12 May 86I later caught so many yellowfish that a young Bantu boy who served me as a gillie could not carry the bag of fish.
1982 M.N. Bruton et al. Pocket Guide to Freshwater Fishes 43Like most yellowfish, fights powerfully until completely exhausted.
1988 S. Afr. Panorama Dec. 36The lightning-fast, strong and golden-bodied yellowfish (Barbus species) indigenous to the Vaal and Orange river systems.
b. With distinguishing epithet:
Clanwilliam yellowfish, B. capensis; barber sense 1 a; see also geelvis;
large-mouth yellowfish, B. kimberleyensis;
large-scaled yellowfish, B. marequensis;
Lowveld yellowfish, see small-scaled yellowfish;
small-mouth yellowfish, small-mouthed yellowfish, B. holubi;
small-scaled yellowfish, B. polylepsis.
1987 T.F.J. Van Rensburg Intro. to Fynbos 48Ten species are regarded as endangered. They are: Clanwilliam yellowfish...Olifants River.
1983 Star 15 Sept. 11The large-mouth yellow-fish (Barbus kimberleyensis)..spawns only at about the age of seven years.
1978 U. de V. Pienaar Freshwater Fishes of Kruger Nat. Park 36Large-scaled Yellow-fish (Barbus marequensis)...The cleaner the water, the more pronounced is the yellow colour of the fish.
1971 Farmer’s Weekly 12 May 83One of the most willing and easiest fish to be caught..is the Lowveld yellowfish also known as ‘Barbus polylepsis’, or, commonly, the smallscaled yellowfish.
1971 Farmer’s Weekly 85Many anglers..confuse it with the Vaal River smallmouthed yellowfish, ‘Barbus holubi’, because the two are alike.
c1978 Report No.34 (Dept of Nature & Environ. Conservation) 55Recently attention has been given to the culture of the small-mouth yellowfish.
1971smallscaled yellowfish: [see quot. at Lowveld yellowfish above].
Any of several freshwater fishes of the genus Barbus (family Cyprinidae), so called because of the colouration of some species; geelvis; moggel sense 2.
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